first estimates
A first glance at the freshly released data reveals a mixed picture across the continent. While Denmark has lost most of its income gains from last year, income in Slovenia has greatly improved, following a 15% decrease last year. Sweden, Lithuania and Belgium, among others, have seen drops in income, whereas France, Finland and Italy have managed to maintain the status quo.
This underperformance is presumably linked to the extreme weather conditions faced by several Member States, from exceptionally severe droughts in northern Europe to floods in mid-October in southern Europe. Commenting on the figures, Pekka Pesonen, Copa-Cogeca Secretary General, said “Statistics are starting to reflect the consequences of the episodes of severe drought and flooding on farms. This is all the more worrying as we already know that farmers’ income for 2019 will be impacted. Indeed, seedlings in many regions across Europe have been harmed by such extreme weather conditions. It is key that we and our governments draw lessons from this crisis. Member States should now fully implement all risk management tools at their disposal. For its part, the European Commission should better anticipate and take swifter action.”
Considering structural indicators, we can assume that a sharper decline in income was only prevented by a gradual reduction of the workforce, which decreased by 1.5% in 2018. In the meantime, farming input costs (e.g. seeds, energy, lubricants, fertilizers, plant protection products) continue to rise steadily, increasing the pressure on all European farmers for 2019.
